Easily removable heating unit insert



April 22, 1969 H. E. MEYER I 3,439,892

EASILY REMOVABLE HEATING UNIT INSERT Filed March '7, 1967 I INVENTQRHOWARD E. MEYER.

ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,439,892 EASILY REMOVABLE HEATING UNITINSERT Howard E. Meyer, Laurel, Md., assignor to Electra-Therm,Incorporated, Laurel; Md., a corporation of Maryland Filed Mar. 7, 1967,Ser. No. 621,176 Int. Cl. A47f 5/00 US. Cl. 248-200 9 Claims ABSTRACT OFTHE DISCLOSURE A slightly tapered support element for insertion withinthe opening defined'by a heating element spider. The support memberhaving'generally cylindrical outward configuration and having pluralvertical ridges extending outwardly therefrom with the lower portion ofthe ridges being cut out by a circular die to form a notch in eachvertical ridge at the lowermost portion of the cylindrical member. Thenotch being snapped onto horizontal ridges extending inwardly from eachweb element of the spider.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The heating elements employed in electricranges generally include a spider formed by metallic web members forsupporting generally circular heating means per se. A central opening isgenerally provided by the element forming the spider and it isconventional practice to pro vide a central supporting member having amedallion or other means supported on its upper surface within this openspace. The supporting member normally comprises means for merelysupporting a design or other indicia indicative of the manufacturer orseller of the heating unit. However, in recent years the development ofheat sensitive thermostat means for controlling the current to eachburner has resulted in the use of such central support members forsupporting heat sensitive means to prevent overheating of the unit.

In all cases, whether the central support member has been for thepurpose of merely supporting identifying indicia or for supporting moresophisticated elements such as thermostat control, there has been aproblem of providing adequate means for retaining the support memberwithin the confines of the spider. Such retaining means should be easilyand quickly operated so that the support member can be placed within theconfines'of the spider with a minimum effort and should also provide acompletely reliable connection capable of sustaining the support memberin position during the normal shocks and vibrations incident with use ofthe heating element. The support member should also be easily removablefrom the spider.

Previous methods of attaching such support members have included the useof tabs which are inserted through holes in the spider and subsequentlybent into position to provide a clamping connection With the spider. Anexample of such a structure is found in US. Patent No. 2,877,334. Othersupport-spider connecting structures have included threaded connections,detents and the like. However, such structures have not been reliable inthat they are either too easily disconnected from the spider oralternatively, they are too hard to disconnect.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The central support member in the preferredembodiment comprises a slightly tapered conical, hollow cup shapedmember which tapers outwardly from the top to the bottom thereof andwhich has a plurality of outwardly extending ridges oriented verticallyin its outer surfaces. The lower portion of the outwardly extendingridges is cut out by a semi-circular die member to provide a notch3,439,892. Patented Apr. 22, 1969 "Ice in the outwardly extending ridgeswith the lower portion of the notch being formed by an outwardlyextending bottom flange element. The aforementioned notch is dimensionedso as to snugly snap over and engage a horizontal inwardly extendingridge on each of the flat webmembers forming a heating elementsupporting spider. The web members are connected to ldefine an openinginto which the support member is inserted so that each notch snaps overits respective horizontal ridge. This construction enables the easyinsertion of the support member within the confines of the spider andalso enables the removable support from within the confines of thespider without undue effort. The invention, therefore, provides asolution to the need for easily insertable and easily removable circularsupport members for heating elements. The support member is notsusceptible to separation from the spider due to the normal shocks andvibrations incident .with the use of the heating element.

It is a primary object of this invention to provide new and improvedcentral support members for use in electrical heating units.

Yet another object of this invention is the provision of t a new andimproved medallion support member for use in electrical heating units.

Yet another object of this invention is a new and improved centralsupport member for supporting a thermostat in a heating unit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERREDEMBODIMENT The preferred embodiment of the invention is for a metalliccentral support member 8 having a medallion plate 9 in the shape ofindicia, a trademark or other design on its top surface. The supportmember is inserted within a central opening defined by a spider 10. Thespider comprises three metallic web members 12 connected by a rivet orWeld at their outer ends to define a generally triangular centralopening 16. Each web 12 has an inwardly extending horizontal ridge 18(FIGS. 1 and 2) extending into the opening 16. A heating coil 20 (shownin dashed lines) rests upon the upper surface of spider 10 as shown inFIGURE 1.

The support member 8 is formed of a hollow shell or cup member generallyhaving an outer wall 24 which is slightly tapered upwardly from a bottomflange 26 as shown in FIGURE 3. Consequently, the outer wall 24 definesa slightly tapered conical section. A plurality of vertical ridges 28extend outwardly from outer wall 24 as shown in FIGURE 1. The ridges 28are equisdistantly spaced about the periphery of outer wall 24 and thebottom portion of each ridge is terminated by a semicircular die havingits center slightly below the bottom of flange 26 which is movedradially inwardly to provide a cut defined by edge 32. Consequently, anotch 34 (FIG. 4) is formed in each vertical ridge and has a bottomtermination in flange 26. Each notch 34 snugly engages its respectivehorizontal ridge 18 as shown in FIGURE 2.

The top of the support member 8 in the preferred embodiment has a designin the form of a plate attached thereto. However, it should beunderstood that the design could be merely printed or painted on the topof 3 the support member 8. It should also be clearly understood that thesupport member can serve to support any desired structure such as athermostat for controlling the heat coils if desired.

The support member 8 is inserted within opening 16 upwardly from thebottom of the opening sothat the vertical ridges 28 engage theirrespective horizontal ridges 18. The entire structure is then shapedinto position by additional upward pressure so that each notch 34embraces its respective horizontal ridge 18. The member is then fixedlysupported within the confines of the spider and will remain therein. Themember 8 is constructed of somewhat flexible metal stock and thestructure can be removed by forcefully pressing downwardly upon the topof the member 8. Such downward pressure causes the portion of the memberadjacent notch 34 to move inwardly to allow the shell to be removed fromopening 16.

While the preferred embodiment is drawn to a shell having three ridgesto be used with a spider formed by three webs, it should be understoodthat any number of ridges could be employed for use with a like numberof horizontal ridges on associated metallic web members. It should alsobe understood that it is not absolutely necessary that the shell memberbe generally circular as viewed from above in that the shell could havelinear portions extending between respective vertical ridges if desired.

While only one embodiment of the present invention has been particularlyshown and described, it should be apparent that various othermodifications may be made within the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. In a range top heating unit of the type having a heating elementsupporting spider formed of plural metallic webs connected to define acentral opening with each web having a horizontal ridge extending intosaid opening, a new and improved support member received within saidopening, said support member comprising:

a hollow shell member having an outer surface dimensioned to loosely fitwithin said opening; and

a plurality of generally vertical outwardly extending ridges formed insaid hollow shell and 'having a lower termination above the bottom ofsaid shell 4 formed by a cutout portion defining a notch in said ridgeand the bottom of said shell, each of said notches being verticallydimensioned so that it snugly engages one of said horizontal ridges toenable said shell to be retained in said central opening.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein said hollow shell includes an outwardlyflared bottom flange.

3. The device of claim 2 wherein said cutout is defined by a generallysemi-circular edge in said shell as viewed from a radial positionaligned with one of said vertical ridges.

4. The device of claim 3 wherein the diameter of said cutout issubstantially greater than the width of said vertical ridge.

5. The device of claim 4 wherein the center of curvature of saidsemi-circular cutout is beneath said bottom flange.

6. The device of claim 2 wherein said hollow shell comprises a slightlytapered conic section of upwardly tapering configuration.

7. The device of claim 3 wherein said hollow shell comprises a slightlytapered conic section of upwardly tapering configuration.

8. The device of claim 4 wherein said 'hollow shell comprises a slightlytapered conic section of upwardly tapering configuration.

9. The device of claim 5 wherein said hollow shell comprises a slightlytapered conic section of upwardly tapering configuration.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,462,016 2/1949 Wiegand 219455 X3,072,775 1/1963 Ammerman et al. 2l9458 3,192,361 6/1965 Post et al219-458 FOREIGN PATENTS 526,126 10/1924 France. 920,378 11/ 1954Germany.

ROY D. FRAZI'ER, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.-R.

